JAKARTA – Cholesterol levels that rise sharply can be influenced by external factors, including diet and certain lifestyle factors.
The body actually needs cholesterol to perform many biological functions, such as making hormones (such as estrogen or testosterone) and providing structure for cells.
There are two types of cholesterol, there is good cholesterol and there is bad cholesterol. You should always keep cholesterol levels stable, because if they rise sharply, it can be harmful to the body.
The following is an explanation of the causes of increased cholesterol levels as quoted by the Verywellhealth site.
1. Eating Unhealthy Food
A diet high in saturated fat, trans fat or refined sugar can affect your cholesterol levels by causing LDL (bad) levels to rise and HDL (good or healthy) levels to decrease.
The American Heart Association recommends only about 5 to 6 percent of your daily calories should come from saturated fat. Refined sugars and trans fats that are included in a variety of foods, including pastries, cookies, and chips, should be limited or avoided altogether.
2. You Have Certain Medical Conditions
Several medical conditions can also affect your LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol levels, especially if you don’t get adequate treatment. These conditions include diabetes, prediabetes, insulin resistance, or metabolic syndrome, obesity, hypothyroidism, and kidney disease.
